France's right-wing populists want to vote in favor of stricter immigration law
The planned French immigration law is likely to be passed with the votes of the right-wing populists. The parliamentary mediation committee has agreed on a joint text, its chairman Sacha Houlié announced on Tuesday.
The right-wing populist party Rassemblement National announced that it would vote in favor of this bill, which is significantly stricter than the original.
The two chambers of parliament should finally pass the planned law this evening. According to the latest compromise, non-European foreigners will only be entitled to housing benefit after five years of residence in France. Exceptions are planned for migrants who work, as well as for students and recognized asylum seekers. This point had been particularly controversial until recently. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed the compromise. "There are measures that protect the French, namely toughness towards criminal foreigners, and measures of justice, such as the end of detention pending deportation for minors," said Darmanin.
The right-wing populist parliamentary group leader Marine Le Pen spoke of an "ideological victory" for her party. "Now the 'national preference', i.e. the preference of French people over foreigners for certain social benefits, is finally law," said Le Pen.
The left-wing opposition spoke of a "loss of all dignity" with regard to the right-wing populists' support for the government.
Last week, the National Assembly surprisingly rejected the Senate's tougher text on the immigration law. President Emmanuel Macron then called on the members of the committee to agree on an "intelligent compromise". Macron had originally set the goal of passing a "balanced" immigration law that would both facilitate the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and promote the integration of working migrants.
However, the right-wing majority in the Senate overturned a key article that would have given migrants the right to stay if they worked in sectors with staff shortages.
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Source: www.ntv.de
